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ABOUT THIS IMAGE:

This is a view from within the Polaris triple star system. The
North Star, Polaris A is a bright supergiant variable star.

Just above Polaris is a small companion, Polaris Ab, which is
2 billion miles from Polaris. Much farther away, near the top
of the illustration, is the wide companion Polaris B. Polaris B
is located approximately 240 billion miles from Polaris A. The
two companion stars are the same temperature as Polaris A, but
are dwarf stars.

The wide companion star is visible in small telescopes. It was
first noticed by William Herschel in 1780. The close companion,
Polaris Ab was known to exist from measurements of a wobble in
Polaris, caused by the gravitational tug of its companion, but has
only been seen directly now using Hubble.